On 9 December 2015 Law of Ukraine No. 767-VIII "On Introducing Amendments to Chapter X “Transitional Provisions” of the Land Code of Ukraine regarding Extension of Prohibition on the Alienation of Agricultural Land" (the Law) became effective. The Law extends the moratorium on alienation of agricultural land until 1 January 2017.

Main Developments

The Law extends the moratorium on the following actions:

(1) the sale of state-owned and municipal land plots designated for agricultural use, except for the withdrawal (buy-out) of such land plots for public needs;

(2) the sale and purchase or other alienation (except for certain cases, including exchanging of a land plot, withdrawal (buy-out) for public needs, etc.) and change of designated use of:

    (i) land plots owned by individuals and legal entities which are designated for agricultural commodity production,

    (ii) land plots allocated afield to an owner of a land share (“pai”) and designated for individual agricultural household,

    (iii) land shares (“pai”); and

(3) contribution of a land share (“pai”) to the charter capital of a commercial company.

Expected consequences

The extension of the moratorium is expected to promote the development of a legislative framework for agricultural land turnover. In this regard, the Law requires the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to develop and introduce for consideration by the Parliament of Ukraine the draft law on agricultural land turnover by 1 March 2016.
Additional notes

This LEGAL ALERT is issued to inform Baker & McKenzie clients and other interested parties of legal developments that may affect or otherwise be of interest to them. The comments above do not constitute legal or other advice and should not be regarded as a substitute for specific advice in individual cases.